by Diana Buraka
https://dianaburaka.com/news/
To
understand the vague logic behind the will to leave Europe, I decided to get on
to the streets of London and to talk to those, who believe they will be better
off turning their backs on their neighbours, naïvely hoping to continue
benefiting from the European single market in the same friendly spirit.
While the Remain
campaign talks about the real economy, Nigel Farage is relentlessly repeating
the same old broken record on immigration, playing on emotional strings, that
have nothing to do with logic or common sense. Slamming the doors in the face
of skilled and talented Europeans, who make this country thrive by working and
paying their taxes, is not the way to handle the immigration issue.
Nick, 58,
from Woodford, is a souvenir stall keeper in the most touristic part of central
London. I stopped at his stall and asked him, if he sells T-shirts with an “I’M
IN” slogan. After thanking an Italian tourist for buying a souvenir from his
stall, Nick turned to me and said: ‘I hope we leave Europe and stop the
immigrants coming to Britain’. Considering what he said from a logical point of
view, if there is anyone, who should be genuinely hoping for Britain to remain
in the EU, it should be a souvenir vendor like Nick, otherwise, who will buy
his souvenirs if not the foreigners, who flood into London?
Nick grumbled, that there are not enough jobs for everyone in the UK, but I
told him that in Switzerland, a country that is outside the EU, where I lived
and worked almost a decade, I have witnessed louder anti-immigration voices, as
Switzerland, like any other country with a high standard of living, attracts
newcomers in their pursuit for a better future. So, leaving the EU is no
guarantee of fewer immigrants.
Let’s pray,
that talented Europeans will still wish to remain in Britain after London loses
its crown as the most multicultural and cosmopolitan city in Europe. And also,
let’s hope that stall vendors like Nick will still have enough tourists to buy
his souvenirs…
In my
pursuit for a logical reason to leave Europe, I spoke to Mike, 52, a black cab
driver from Greenwich. I asked Mike, about his reasons to vote for Brexit. Mike
expressed his worries about the job shortage for black cab drivers. ‘Isn’t it
an inevitable result of globalization and technological progress?’, I thought….
But ironically, Mike did not even mention his true worry, which was competition
from Uber, instead blaming the immigrants… Neither did he seem to be aware,
that a big part of his own income comes from the foreigners who use his
services.
Rounding off my
discussions with the Brexit supporters that I spoke to, I was left with an
impression, that the vote to Leave is so misleading, that even those directly
dependent on the European clientele, are not aware of the negative impact on
their own financial wellbeing! If the UK should leave Europe, it will be an
impulsive mistake, that in the long run will benefit nobody!
